Senior Bowl!

[POISON]

Kody Sheets out of Purdue is looking good and I can't wait to see Jeremiah Johnson do work.

Brett Rhomar has been the best QB so far and watching Nathan Brown makes baby Jesus cry. He's looks awful.

Try Rhett Bomar!!!!! Dude is an off field problem. Pettigrew is a stud!!!!!!!!! Hope we can get him!!!!!!

 

[joeshmo]

Only saw the North side practice.

Day 1 -

Players who caught my eye in a good way.

DL - Mitch King - Iowa - Dude was a freaking firecracker. Once lit it goes off. Very quick. Looks like a lunch pail type guy. Caught my eye the most on Day one.

DL - Raji - Boston College - Looks like a round bowling ball but dont judge book by the cover becuase he has some quicks to him. Good hands and even a couple of pass rush moves for a big fella.

DL/LB - English - NIU - Body type looks to be the prototypical 3-4 OLB. Worked only as a DE today so it was with his hand down he had the fastest first step of the DL bunch. Really good outside rush move. Even showed once a decent inside rush move.

TE - Pettigrew - OK. St. - Was more fluid going out of his blocks into coverage then I thought he would be. Looks to have slimmed down slightly and looks like a very strong and athletic 255 lbs. Strong upper body.

OL - Mack - Looked very solid against the best NT there Raji. Good use of his hands to keep the DL off of him.

DL - Evander Hood - Looked quicker then I thought he would be, a few nice spin moves.

WR - Derrick Williams - good body control and catching the ball away from his body.

Players who caught my eye in a bad way.

OT - Fulton - Looked like he didnt even want to be there.

OT - Loadholt - Comes out of his stance very up right. Bad feet. Solid hands though.

OL - Unger - Could not handle the bull rush at all. May need to get stronger or move to the outside.

QB's - It will be the Junior QB show without a doubt, because the seniors wont do a thing in the NFL IMO. Although Harrell did better under center taking drop backs better then I thought he would. Probably improved his stock with that.

WR - Iglesias - Dropped a lot of balls.

Players who were just there -

All the DB's - None impressed and not look horrid either. They were just there. Although Mickens who I still recovering from an injury should not have showed up. Nice to see him work through the injury but you dont want your faults to be magnified there either which will happen if you are not full speed.

Biggest Dissapointment with the practice -

DE/TE - Connor Barwin - Would liked to have seen him get reps at DE. Only got reps at TE, he wasnt bad at DE, I meen dude is an athelete with a TE build but he made his name as a DE in college and I think it is a disservice to not work him out at least half and half.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Larry English, Brandon Pettigrew and Alphonso Smith are my top three choices for our first round pick at this point.

I'm for Pettigrew, Mack, Sintim, English, or Cushing.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

An interesting note, Michael Johnson didn't show up for the Senior Bowl. I don't think that he's the lottery pick that he think he is. Probably didn't want to get exposed.

I agree. The times i saw him play he didn't look very athletic and seemed kind of stiff.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Why do I feel like we should give Ben Patrick a year? OL & LB are my priorities.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Why do I feel like we should give Ben Patrick a year? OL & LB are my priorities.

Agreed. Sign Kleinsasser bring back Spach and give Patrick another year to develop.

Pope is cut.

 

[Dr. Jones]

No way Spach plays next year..... He tore the ACL and MCL.

I would hope to keep Pope around also. I think they both have the stuff to be serviceable. I think Patrick could be one of our better 7th rounders ever. If he stays healthy.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Why do I feel like we should give Ben Patrick a year? OL & LB are my priorities.

either way, we have to draft a TE somewhere.Pettigrew is the best. If you can get the best player at a position at #32 that would be excellent. Mack and Pettigrew are probably the only 2 that fit into that category. I could live with English/Mack in round 1 and Coffman in round 2 as well.

 

[Gandhi]

either way, we have to draft a TE somewhere.

Not at all. If Tony Gonzalez can be had for a third round pick, I think it would be great to have him teach Ben Patrick a thing or two.

 

[Gaddabout]

Pettigrew won't be on the board when the Cards draft. He's also got character issues, something I don't think the current FO wants to introduce.

I think his value is subject to interpretation. He probably comes in an makes an immediate impact in the running game. His pass catching ability ... depends which season/game you watch, I guess. He totally disappeared as a receiver this year.

 

[Shogun]

Why do I feel like we should give Ben Patrick a year? OL & LB are my priorities.

We NEED a blocker at TE. You saw Spach how much of a difference his presence made. I like Patrick, but he's a solid #2 TE and is not nearly be the blocker Pettigrew is. Possibly would never be. I agree that his character concerns might scare off the Cardinals, but I hope not.

 

[Shogun]

DE/TE - Connor Barwin - Would liked to have seen him get reps at DE. Only got reps at TE, he wasnt bad at DE, I meen dude is an athelete with a TE build but he made his name as a DE in college and I think it is a disservice to not work him out at least half and half.

According to Barwin, there was no spot for him on the roster at DE but there was a spot at TE so he jumped on it.

I want to see him standing up.

 

[Gaddabout]

Talking to my buddies here who cover the Cards a few minutes ago, and they think the Cards are more likely to address TE through trade or FA -- and STAFF has mentioned several times they wished they had a veteran TE. Spach's career may be over, and without any stability at the situation, I'm told they're very unlikely to go young there. If they do, it will be with a later pick. The won't want to pay guaranteed money to a TE (a direct quote apparently).

The general feeling is the Cards want a pass rusher, either at DE or LB. Period. And they think there are some in this draft.

 

[joeshmo]

Pettigrew won't be on the board when the Cards draft. He's also got character issues, something I don't think the current FO wants to introduce.

I think his value is subject to interpretation. He probably comes in an makes an immediate impact in the running game. His pass catching ability ... depends which season/game you watch, I guess. He totally disappeared as a receiver this year.

He had only one issue concerning his character, and that was a year ago. It was one issue so it isnt a trend. Brandon Keith although he was a 7th rounder so they didnt have to give him as much money, was still going through a court case for assualt and we still drafted him, but it was an isolated thing and wasnt a trend. I think the Cards have shown they will give guys a 2nd chance as long as their issues isnt a trend.

Not sure how he dissappeared as a reciever this year. He had more catches this season then the prior season even though he was targeted less and asked to block more.

Anyways I have another dissapointment with yesterdays practice. CJ Spiller didnt bother to show up. In a year when a lot of juniors will be pushing his draft position way down you would think he would want to show his stuff at an arena that the Juniors dont get to show up to.

 

[joeshmo]

Not at all. If Tony Gonzalez can be had for a third round pick, I think it would be great to have him teach Ben Patrick a thing or two.

Gonzalez makes over 7 mill in base salary. Not a team in the league that wants to touch that salary for a TE, even one of Gonzalez stature. Its the reason why KV tried to trade him and why they will try and trad him again or they will outright cut him.

 

[joeshmo]

The won't want to pay guaranteed money to a TE (a direct quote apparently).

Ugh. Translation, expect to see musical chairs at TE again. You get what you pay for. Apparently TE isnt as much of a priority to the team as what I thought it was.

 

[Cardiac]

Talking to my buddies here who cover the Cards a few minutes ago, and they think the Cards are more likely to address TE through trade or FA -- and STAFF has mentioned several times they wished they had a veteran TE. Spach's career may be over, and without any stability at the situation, I'm told they're very unlikely to go young there. If they do, it will be with a later pick. The won't want to pay guaranteed money to a TE (a direct quote apparently).

The general feeling is the Cards want a pass rusher, either at DE or LB. Period. And they think there are some in this draft.

I think this is spot on. The offense is basically set, just have to figure out the RB situation. The defense has played pretty well, the issue is getting more 3 and outs. The pass rush needs upgraded at this point.

I also think we need to add a Darren Sproles type RB to the roster. Easier said then done but our KR & PR need upgraded. An explosive weapon on offense out of the back field and the sky's the limit.

 

[joeshmo]

I also think we need to add a Darren Sproles type RB to the roster. Easier said then done but our KR & PR need upgraded. An explosive weapon on offense out of the back field and the sky's the limit.

Return game should be a priority, I agree. Breaston is just average at punt returning at best, he can break a long one but for the most part he is getting 5 yards a pop. OUr kickoff return game isnt any better. Both can easily be improved.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Talking to my buddies here who cover the Cards a few minutes ago, and they think the Cards are more likely to address TE through trade or FA -- and STAFF has mentioned several times they wished they had a veteran TE. Spach's career may be over, and without any stability at the situation, I'm told they're very unlikely to go young there. If they do, it will be with a later pick. The won't want to pay guaranteed money to a TE (a direct quote apparently).

The general feeling is the Cards want a pass rusher, either at DE or LB. Period. And they think there are some in this draft.

I don't disagree with any of this. I think the team is still kickingitself that they couldn't get Reggie Kelly two years ago and I expect the to make a push for Kliensasser or another vet TE who can block.

And I agree about the pass rushers being the priority. That and O line might be all I draft.....

 

[Shogun]

Did anyone catch the Senior Bowl practice today? I only saw the first couple minutes.

 

[Shogun]

Alphonso Smith, come on down!

 

[joeshmo]

Did anyone catch the Senior Bowl practice today? I only saw the first couple minutes.

It was weird the first 15 minutes was just a re-airing of the DL vs OL drills from the day before for the North practice. It was a full pads practice the rest of the day though.

As for the rest -

Unger - continues to show that he needs to get stronger, but shows good feet and hands.

Raji - Maybe Unger is at a disadvantage though becasue Raji is dominating everyone with bull rush moves and quick step moves. Showed good feet on the bags for his size.

Loadholt - actually looked very good. Good arm extension to keep the defenders off of him and once he did that he rpetty much had his way.

Fulton - Had a much better day then the day before. Not awesome but looked at least like he belonged today.

Mack - 2nd rounder status is being solidified so far over the last two days. Not awesome but doesnt make mistakes either.

English - fastest first step out of everyone there including WR's and DB's. Once he gets the edge and he did most of the time the OT was done. But when he tries to switch it up he spent way to much time trying to decide what he wanted to do. On one play he actually spent a good full second just head faking. Could have shown a little better feet in the bags drill as well. But he did keep his head up the whole time while other DL had troubles looking down to see where there feet were.

Pettigrew - got to show his blocking today and was completely dominate.

Sintim - Seemed kind of lost a little bit. Showed pretty good strength and feet though. Might not work in a 4-3 where he would have to cover more then he would in the 3-4. Strong at the point of attack and holding up the blocker to contain the edge in blocking drills.

The FB's - I really like the two kids there for the North side. Both seem like old school FB throwbacks.

The LB's as a whole were hit and miss. Solid but nothing stood out.

Derrick Williams continues to raise his stock. We know he is fast bu his body control and hands are better then I thought he had. Much more physical as well.

Finally got a look at the North RB's. Sheets might be making a name for himself here. Super fast game speed.

Thats all that caught my eye. Although I am pissed at the NFL network becuase they are not set up to show the South practices so I have no clue what the south side is doing besides some of the second had reports. Would like to see Oher, Cushing, James Davis, Alph Smith, Rashad Jennings, Clay Matthews, Rey Maualuga, Caldwell, Luigs, Wood, Peria Jerry do some work first hand.

At this point in time my top 3 performers for the north squad so far are Raji, Pettigrew, and Derrick Williams. Honorable mentions to Sheets, English, and King.

Although some rumblings I can gather from the recap show and some other shows on sirius radio -

Hermand Johnsons stock is plummeting. Almost 390 pounds and in practice he can barely even move his feet. Might be the biggest slider there.

Rey Maualuga apparently looked slow to react and out of shape.

 

[overseascardfan]

Alphonso Smith, come on down!

Reminds me of Aaron Glenn, if he is half the player Glenn was in his prime then sign me up.

 

[Totally_Red]

Mitch King was a stud at Iowa. Nobody outworks him.

As far as C.J. Spiller I'm a littler leary of him. The reports say he dominates against weak opponents and doesn't show up against top competition.

I agree that pass rusher is a real need along with upgrades at center and tight end.

Saw a report today about all three Baltimore linebackers, Suggs, Lewis and Scott being free agents and that at best the Ravens would only be able to keep two. They can franchise one with Scott the most likely to leave in F.A.

 

[perivolaki]

English - fastest first step out of everyone there including WR's and DB's. Once he gets the edge and he did most of the time the OT was done. But when he tries to switch it up he spent way to much time trying to decide what he wanted to do. On one play he actually spent a good full second just head faking. Could have shown a little better feet in the bags drill as well. But he did keep his head up the whole time while other DL had troubles looking down to see where there feet were.

That worries me a little bit. Fast steps are great but if that's all you got good left tackles will just kick out and meet you at the intersection point and guide you around the quarterback.

The key is if he is teachable and willing to learn. A quick step coupled with an inside move can make for a devastating pass rusher. If he can keep those tackles guessing he could be a great pick.